2024

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.31178/AUBD/2024.12

Abstract:The distinctivenessof European Union law in relation to the national law of Member States stems from the European Union’s nature as an intergovernmental organization for integration that acts to achieve the common objectives of the Member States by adopting, in certain areas of competence, rules that are binding on them; these characteristics, analyzed under the terms of immediate application, direct application, and priority application, have been established in the relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (which succeeded the Court of Justice of the European Communities) and are observed by the Member States.

In addition to these fundamental characteristics, we note that European Union law also has another distinctive feature, namely its extended territorial application, which is the subject of the analysis below. Through this analysis, we will present the “territorial application of the Union Treaties,” highlighting the uniqueness of this characteristic, focusing on its application in the Turkish Cypriot community, in light of the “Cyprus issue.”

Demonstrating the scope of the territorial application of European Union law requires highlighting the solid foundations of the EU legal order while ensuring compliance with public international law and the Charter of the United Nations, in accordance with Article 3(5) (5) of the Treaty on European Union, without delving into the concepts of extraterritoriality and trans-territoriality, which are the subject of specific doctrinal analysis.

Keywords:territorial application of European Union law, the “Cyprus problem,” candidate countries, stability, economic development